1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to short-range wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a wireless communication apparatus and method that uses mobile nodes in a low-rate, short-range personal wireless communication environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Networking communication technologies are broadly divided into wired and wireless technologies. Because there are various techniques and standards for the technologies, demand has increased for integrated standards. Current wired networking communication technologies include, for example, Ethernet, Power Line Communication (PLC) and IEEE 1394. Current wireless networking communication technologies include, for example, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra-WideBand (UWB) communication and ZigBee.
ZigBee is used as an international standard specification for low-rate, short-range personal wireless communication. ZigBee is based on IEEE 802.15.4 and designed for low power consumption and low cost. ZigBee is a type of a Personal Area Network (PAN) that may be used mainly in households, offices, etc. ZigBee is applied to remote control, remote management, or remote monitoring in order to achieve near field communications and ubiquitous computing.
Unlike widely known LANs or WLANs, ZigBee performs communication within a relatively short range, with each individual having his/her own unique network. ZigBee communication provides competitiveness due to its ultra-small size, low power consumption, and low cost, and has been categorized as a communication scheme suitable for a home network solution.
ZigBee communication may be incorporated in a device and a mobile node that require near field wireless communication. If communication is performed within a ZigBee network, the device and mobile node are assigned an address through a ZigBee coordinator. Specifically, the ZigBee coordinator sets a communication function and, when the communication function is set, sequentially assigns different addresses to devices and mobile nodes which are connected thereto for use in ZigBee communication. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating conventional address assignment in a ZigBee network, which assigns addresses such that they do not overlap each other.
However, unlike a fixed device that performs ZigBee communication in a fixed place, a mobile node frequently travels during communication, which results in a communication disabled state when performing near field communication. If communication is disabled, the mobile node must again implement the above-described address assignment process to resume ZigBee communication.